Drivers praise ‘interesting’ Austin circuit

The majority of the grid were full of praise for the new Circuit of the Americas facility following practice on Friday which gave them a chance to familiarise themselves with the new track.

The first technical sector was clearly a favourite, though some drivers expressed concern about the lack of grip and overtaking opportunities – though the former is likely to adapt over the weekend.

Mark Webber

“It’s a pretty good track, it’s quick, especially the first sector which is quite full on, although sectors two and three are more traditional and similar to other tracks. It’s got a bit of everything really, so it’s good.”

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Jenson Button

“Turn One to Turn Nine is a brilliant and free-flowing section – particularly if the car is working well. Turn One is a strange corner though – with a very wide entry rather like Turn Three in India. Turn Three here – the start of the esses – is fantastic though. It’s quicker than Becketts at Silverstone. It’s very unsuual to find a section of corners like this on a modern Formula 1 track. I love it.

“Nevertheless, I don’t think overtaking is going to be easy here, because it’ll be so tricky to stay close to the car in front of you. But the circuit is great fun to drive, and I hope we can put on a great race.”

Lewis Hamilton

“This is a great drivers’ track – it’s very tough to pull together three perfect sectors. Personally, I find the final two sectors easier than the first; those high-speed changes of direction need a good set-up, and balancing that requirement against the demands of the slow-speed stuff is tricky.

“Turn One probably looks more exciting from the outside than it does from inside the cockpit – it’s certainly not easy, though. You can get oversteer, or lock up, and it’s tricky to get a perfect line through there.”

Kimi Raikkonen

“It’s a nice circuit to drive; the sectors are quite different so there’s a good challenge there. Of course, like with any new track there was no grip at the start of the day which doesn’t give you a very good feeling, but as the grip improves it will be more fun to drive for sure.”

Jean-Eric Vergne

“I have to say this is a really nice track and I like it very much. It is very challenging with a lot of places where you can overtake, even without DRS I can see some corners where you can pass, which will be good for the show and it is also excellent purely from a driving point of view. There was not one corner where I felt it wasn’t interesting.”

Pedro de la Rosa 

“This is a beautiful and technical circuit. There are all sorts of corners and you have to drive with confidence, as there are quite a few blind turns.”